Ask a team what “good performance” looks like in influencer marketing, and you’ll rarely get the same answer twice.
Some look at engagement. Others at reach. Others at EMV or conversions. And quite often, comparisons are made with brands that don’t share the same context, budget, or audience.
At the same time, expectations haven’t changed: prove ROI, scale what works, and justify every euro spent.
This is where data becomes essential.
The insights below were originally shared during a Kolsquare webinar, where our experts Eugen and Alicia broke down Rimmel London’s influencer marketing approach using real platform data — from creator mix and top-performing formats to EMV impact and engagement trends in the UK beauty market.
We’ve distilled the key takeaways here so you can apply them directly to your own campaigns.
What does EMV actually tell you?
Estimated Media Value (EMV) is one of the most widely used metrics in influencer marketing.
It helps put a monetary value on reach and engagement, which makes it easier to compare influencer campaigns with paid media.
But here’s the nuance most people overlook:
There is no universal formula.
Depending on the platform or tool, EMV might be based on reach alone, or include engagement, or apply different CPM assumptions.
👉 In practice:
EMV is extremely useful — as long as you use it consistently within the same framework.
This isn’t just about campaigns — it’s about positioning.
Rimmel has moved away from its polished, celebrity-led image towards something more raw, more culturally grounded. A shift designed to resonate with younger audiences and rebuild relevance.
Behind that shift, there’s a clear business logic:
And the momentum is there, with strong gains on both Instagram and TikTok in late 2025.
Over a six-month period, Rimmel worked with around 1,450 creators, generating £17.5M in EMV.
That’s not about finding one perfect face for the brand.
It’s about building a broad, active creator ecosystem.
👉 If you’re looking for a pattern here:
Performance doesn’t come from one big hit. It comes from consistent visibility across many creators.
Are Reels now the default format?
Pretty much.
Across the dataset, Reels dominate both in volume and performance. Feed posts are far less present, and Stories tend to play a supporting role.
It’s not that other formats are gone — they just don’t drive the same impact.
👉 If you’re still prioritising static content, it might be time to rethink your mix.
Is December really the peak moment?
Interestingly, no.
The data shows stronger performance in November, driven by key commercial moments like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
At the same time:
December, on the other hand, tends to slow down.
👉 The takeaway is simple:
Don’t assume peak season — look at when your audience is actually ready to act.
Across the UK beauty landscape, most brands rely heavily on nano and micro creators.
We’re talking 85–90% of total creator partnerships.
Mega influencers still exist, but they’re used sparingly.
👉 What this shows:
Influencer marketing has shifted from a top-heavy model to something far more distributed and scalable.
Even with that long-tail approach, performance isn’t evenly spread.
Roughly 40% of EMV comes from just a handful of creators.
So while scale matters, so does identification.
👉 The real challenge isn’t choosing between scale and performance —
it’s knowing who to double down on once you see results.
Do creators still commit to one brand?
Not really — and brands seem to accept it.
Top creators typically work with multiple brands at once, sometimes even within the same category.
And audiences don’t seem to mind.
👉 What matters more is whether the content feels genuine and relevant.
For all the talk of innovation, the formats that perform best are surprisingly consistent:
Often with multiple products featured in the same content.
And that’s precisely why they work.
👉 They feel natural, useful, and easy to engage with — not like ads.
When content is part of a paid collaboration, the expectations shift.
The best-performing examples stand out because they:
Take the “cappuccino look” trend.
It wasn’t just organic buzz — it was amplified by activating a large number of creators around the same concept.
👉 That’s where strategy comes in:
repetition + consistency = scale
If you zoom out, a few patterns become clear:
👉 If you’re building or refining your strategy, this is where to start.
These insights come from Kolsquare’s data and market analysis, including our latest European study.
If you’re looking to:
Kolsquare helps you turn influencer marketing into a structured, scalable growth channel.
Kolsquare is Europe’s leading Influencer Marketing platform, offering a data-driven solution that empowers brands to scale their KOL (Key Opinion Leader) marketing strategies through authentic partnerships with top creators.
Kolsquare’s advanced technology helps marketing professionals seamlessly identify the best content creators by filtering their content and audience, while also enabling them to build, manage, and optimize campaigns from start to finish. This includes measuring results and benchmarking performance against competitors.
With a thriving global community of influencer marketing experts, Kolsquare serves hundreds of customers—including Coca-Cola, Netflix, Sony Music, Publicis, Sézane, Sephora, Lush, and Hermès—by leveraging the latest Big Data, AI, and Machine Learning technologies. Our platform taps into an extensive network of KOLs with more than 5,000 followers across 180 countries on Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat.
As a Certified B Corporation, Kolsquare leads the way in promoting Responsible Influence, championing transparency, ethical practices, and meaningful collaborations that inspire positive change.
Since October 2024, Kolsquare has become part of the Team.Blue group, one of the largest private tech companies in Europe, and a leading digital enabler for businesses and entrepreneurs across Europe. Team.Blue brings together over 60 successful brands in web hosting, domains, e-commerce, online compliance, lead generation, application solutions, and social media.
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